When I accepted the role of general manger of Clarksdale Public Utilities last September, I fully understood the challenges ahead and the responsibilities entrusted to me on behalf of the people of Clarksdale.

As the rain fell, and fell, and fell, most of last week we couldn’t help but think this couldn’t have come at a better time for those in favor of Clarksdale residents agreeing in August to pick up a hefty tab to fix our drainage and flooding issues within the city limits.

When the Trump brothers, Donald Jr. and Eric, pulled the plug on their hotel company’s expansion plans — and cut their ties with Suresh and Dinesh Chawla, who own three hotels in Clarksdale — they blamed the decision on a hostile political environment.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oxford, a former employee at a Clarkdale bank was recently sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling funds from Southern Bancorp Bank.